He enrolled in the Architectural School ( Građevna stručna škola) in Zagreb (1908–1912) where among his teachers were well-known painters: Oton Iveković, Ivan Tišov, Robert Frangeš Mihanović and Bela Čikoš Sesija.

In the turbulent times before the First World War, fearing political persecution, he left for Italy,[2] first to Florence, then to Rome, where in 1913 he enrolled in the Instituto Superiore di Belle Arti.

He spent a brief time as a volunteer on the Salonika front,[2] but quickly returned to Rome where he worked an assistant to Ivan Meštrović, then returned to Florence where he got to know the Futurist artists Carlo Carrà, Giorgio de Chirico and others.

Tartaglia was especially impressive in his series of self-portraits which showed signs of expressionism from 1917, and were completely abstract by the 1960s.

His work was spontaneous, with a connection to primitive art, such as that of ancient cave paintings.